300. wsm vs. 7mm rem mag.

matt_3479

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Messages
1,586
Location
Southern Ontario
I am currently shooting a 7mm rem mag and im buying a 300. wsm. My plan is to use the 300. wsm for larger game and the 7mm for open parries shots on whitetail and mule whitetails. Now i know with the right bullet the 7mm will do everything i need and at good ranges too.

I want to hear personal preference, which caliber would be better for long range shooting and hunting and why? Bullet of your choice. Just want to know what caliber would be the better for long range hunting and shooting. Hunting would be moose, caribou, possible black bear but mainly that would be close range, whitetail and mule.
 
Ive always been a 30 cal fan. And for some reason I just dont care for the metric system. I know as well as anyone(ok, almost anyone)the capabilities of a 7mag. Flat shootin hard hittin, and just plain fun. Its a proven game taker. But to me its still metric.
If I was being charged by a she bear with cubs(or with out for that matter) Id want the bigger bullet of the 300. Other than that it plain and simple boils dowm to personal preferance. Theres big fans of 7mm's and big fans of 300's, and both have earned thier fanbase for 1 reason or another.
I do appreciate the 7mag's. I guess its just the metric thing I cant get over. Id take a .264WINMAG, over a 6.5x whatever, just about anyday, tho I couldnt tell you why other than the metric thing.
When it comes down to long range, Im a 30 cal fan as well.
I think the 7mag may have an edge over the 300WSM. But Im opinionated, and stubborn as a Missouri mule, so Id still opt for the 300 cause thats how I see fit. Maybe strange thinking to some people, considering the proven track record, and capabilities of the 7mag, but my whole family is the same way........must be grandpa's fault :D.
 
I think for the game you mentioned (*moose*, caribou, *bear*, mulies, and whitetails), i'd go with the 300 WSM with a 180gr or 200gr Accubond. From all accounts this is an excellent performer and those wgts are going to work well in the 300 WSM and it will have more energy to put on target.

However, for the moose and especially depending on which bear you're after i'd honestly want something with more authority than either of your choices - minimum 338 Win mag.
 
I love my 300wsm, but I doubt I'd go from a 7 rem mag to a 300wsm for an edge in power. The benefits it has are the ability to shoot a slightly heavier bullet, and a slightly bigger hole. IMHO, not to the extent of "upgrading" to though.

If you want more power than the 7mm, go w/ a ultra mag or a 338.

I would also add that I think the 7mm is plenty big already for all animals listed. You may want to think about bullet selection more and the cartridge a little less.
 
matt_3479,
My personal preference of the two would be the 7mmRemMag. With a 160gn AccuBond or 168gn Berger VLD you could easily take any of the species you mentioned.
I shot a 300lb black bear at 15 steps last year with my 7Mag loaded with the 150gn Ballistic Tip (3200+fps) and it held up great and went through both shoulders. He was DRT.
As for the WSM's; I've only owned the .270WSM and loved it. Compared to the .270Win it truely is a "short mag". The other two don't offer anymore performance that wasn't already out there, for 30 years. JohnnyK.
 
Not wanting to hi-jack, but i'm planning a custom re-build for LRH and i'll be using the 7mm Rem for it. It's one of my "favorite" cartridges simply b/c it's flat-shooting and hard-hitting. I was thinking you were asking more about a "either or" situation (although i did read you will have *both* cartridges - it just didn't sink in....).

I *hope* the barrel on my re-build likes Nosler 160gr Accubond's b/c i believe thats a near optimum wgt for the 7mm Rem (on bigger animals) and it's a very well-regarded bullet. Ballistically, given a reasonably fast loading, i'd be confident with it out to 700yds +/- for deer-sized game and 400yds for elk. It could probably stretch out further, but i'd want something harder hitting at those longer distances.

This is strictly my opinion and there are other hunters here who are better informed and more experienced than me and most can back up what they say.

For moose i'd be more inclined to use a bigger bore than either 7mm/.284" (if you're 'metric-ally' handicapped ;-) )or .308, but i've *never* hunted them so maybe i'm mistaken. It seems that since they're the biggest 'deer' species i'd want to hit 'em with something that punches *really* hard.

If i have a choice i'll generally go with more horsepower - but that's just me.
 
IMHO there is no replacement for displacement, again fellas, just my opinion- funny this topic should come up, I shoot a .300 short mag & my hunting parter shoots a 7mm, neither one of us will budge an inch when discussing/arguing about the merits of our particular caliber choice. On one side (7mm) you have the previously quoted "flat shootin-hard hittin" go-getter. On the other (300) you have a higher cross sectional area (read surface area) which does transmit more shock/trauma upon impact, coupled with the ability to utilize heavier bullets. Both rifles are capable of .5moa accuracy and neither one of us have had any outstanding successes or failures to give any weight to our arguements..... the more I think about it, maybe it does come down to preference!!
 
I agree with outlaw. Preference.

However, and i may be wrong, but what about the short mag and reloading? Is it possible to load a bullet so that it touches lands? I've also heard that a WSM starts to struggle with the large for caliber bullets. Recoil is less, or so I've heard. I cant really tell the difference because so many guns weigh so many different weights.

I do know that the 7mag can be finicky. I've gone one and really love it but I have and still am considering trading it in on a 300 winmag. I don't really need both.

I really need a 338BNorma but that is a different delima:cool:
 
Limbic,

Yes you can reload so that the bullet will touch the lands if you single feed . If you want to feed from the mag it will depend on the chamber , lead and actual mag length. In my savage I can .

As far as heavy for caliber bullets, my 300WSM struggled with bullet weights over 200 grains. I'm shooting 185 Bergers now and they are very accurate at 3000ft/sec. I tried 208 A-Max and just couldn't get to where I wanted to be without pressure signs ( really flat primers ). So I gave them to a hunting buddy that shoots a 300 win Mag and he loves them.

Recoil on my 300WSM vs my buddies 300 WinMag ( both Savage BVSS ) the 300WSM is more of a push than a punch. If I was going to be shooting it a lot I'd be more comfortable shooting the WSM.

YMMV

Mike
 
Good thread... I used to hunt with a 7RM for many years and 2 years ago when my 7RM throat burned out I ended up going with a 300 WSM. For an all around hunting cartridge, I think the 300 WSM is a little better.

To try to compare apples to apples, if we look at the 7mm (.284 for those who don't like metrics :)) 160 AB vs the .308 ( 7.62mm for those who who do like metrics :)) 180 AB we will see that typical velocity of bout 3000 fps is common to both. The 7mm 160 has a very slight edge in BC. The 180 bullet has 12.5% more mass and 18% greater unexpanded frontal area, both of which IMO are significant in the effect they transfer to the game animal. Not huge, but significant. Bottom line, trajectory is almost identical with like bullets.

If we move away from apples to apples, RL17 adds a new dimension to short the short mag cartridges. This powder gives me 200 fps more velocity with a 180 gr bullet out of my 300 WSM. I think RL17 will benefit the 7mm as well, but probably not as much as the 300 WSM. I plan to find out relatively soon.

Last, bullet selection... Many say that the 7mm has better bullet selection, and that is somewhat true IF you prefer highly frangible bullets like the 168 and 180 Bergers and 162 Amax's. IMO, the GS HV 30 cal 177 gr bullet, with its BC and velocities, is probably the best LR hunting bullet available in 30 cal or less cartridges, period. Put that together with RL17 in a 300 WSM package and it will easily out distance and out punch a 7 RM with any available powder or bullet.

JM $.02

-Mark
 
Last edited:
Montana--

did you find you WSM easier to load for. By easy I mean accepting of various powders and various charges.

My two 7mags like what they like and everything else is MOA. My 260 eats whatever I feed it and finding a good load is much easier.
 
Is the .300 WSM a custom action or are you going to use the short action, which is customary for the short magnum family. If you will use the short action for the WSM then you won't be using the heavy bullets others have mentioned. Too long or too far down in the case. For normal long range hunting the 7's are great, for a little more omph the longer 300 mags are great, for substantial more power maybe raise the bar abit and look at the .338 cartridges, Win mag, Weatherby, suam or Lapua.

Good luck... great to have this kind of delema!
 
Limbic,

I'm not really a good person to ask that question. My Sako 85 Finnlight 300 WSM does not shoot well. I am trying some different options to fix that.

From what I've read, the WSM doesn't seem to be real hard to load for. I've heard good results with H4350 and RL17. Back in the years i was loading for my 7 RM, i wan't being real picky... just looking for something sub MOA and easily found a load to fit the bill with IMR 4350 pushing 160 Partitions in my Ruger M77 (tang safety). One thing I like about the WSM is the cartridge is NOT belted. I am one of those with an irrational dislike for belted cartridges. :cool: :rolleyes:

A couple more pluses for the WSM is longer expected barrel life and Norma brass.

My Senderos in 300 RUM and 25-06 are very easy to please. They shoot just about anything well, some loads a little better than others. I think the rifle is more of a factor than cartridge when looking for ease of reloading with good results.
 
I think the rifle is more of a factor than cartridge when looking for ease of reloading with good results.

I'll add to Montana's post by saying that bullet choice will also determine the ease of load development.
ie, A load for 180 grain Nosler BT's was much easier to develop a load for than the heavy, long ogive, high BC bullets in my experiance.

Mike
 
Warning! This thread is more than 6 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.
Top